My Melody

My Melody (Japanese: マイメロディ, Mai Merodī), often referred to as "My Melo" for short, is a fictional rabbit mascot created by the Japanese company Sanrio in 1975. Originally My Melody was named "Little Red Riding Hood", as she played the role of the popular fairy tale character of the same name, hence being designed with a red hood. It wasn't until 1976 that the name My Melody was used, with the pink variation of her hood first being used in 1977, which the character would become known for.

The Little Red Riding Hood tale has been retold various times over the years with the character, with a noteworthy animated adaption being My Melody no Akazukin in 1989. However, in the field of animation she is now better known for starring in her own successful 2005 anime, Onegai My Melody.

My Melody's hood was made for her by Grandma.

Creation
My Melody - "Little Red Riding Hood" or "Akazukin" at the time - was designed by Yasuko Matsumoto, who also designed Kiki and Lala of Sanrio's "Little Twin Stars", as part of Sanrio's Christmas promotion.

Merchandising
TBA

Legacy
In 2010, My Melody placed first in Sanrio's annual character popularity poll for the first time, she would later win it again in 2011 and 2014. Sanrio attributes her first victory to the tailwinds in her popularity created by Onegai My Melody and the opening of the character's Twitter account earlier that year. Though her history in the top 5 goes further back, as she first made 5th place in 1997 and would again in 2005, 2015 and 2018. She also ranked second place for five years consecutively between 1998 and 2002, later reclaiming this position in 2008, 2012 and 2013. Her other top 5 placements (as of 2021) are third in 2007, 2009, 2016 and 2017, along with fourth place in 2003, 2004, 2006, 2019, 2020 and 2021. Giving her a top 5 placement in 25 out of the 36 contests. This also means that My Melody holds an unbroken streak of having appeared in the top 5 spots for 25 years in a row, the longest of any character.